


Remedium

by kitana



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Comfort, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-28
Updated: 2008-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-15 15:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1309810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitana/pseuds/kitana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Comfort can be found in the strangest places.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remedium

Three years.

Depending on the point of view, three years could be a second or it could be a minute. For Cloud, the three years since Meteor were a lifetime. He was so far from the person he used to be, he wasn’t even sure if he knew who he was back then. Since he’d joined the Shinra army those many years ago, Zack had always been the pivotal mechanism that made all of the other events around him sensible.

Then when Zack died, as suddenly and brutally as he did, nothing had made sense anymore. There wasn’t much anyone could say to make things right in Cloud’s head, and even though his memories were still jagged, sharp and nightmarish, he was okay with it.

He was okay with it, three years later, as he stared down at the rusted sword that served as the only marker of the death of one of the greatest people Cloud had ever known. He sighed as he sank to his knees, head bowed in prayer. Cloud didn’t know if Zack was religious, and he didn’t really believe himself to be either. Yet, as he closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of the warm dirt, he felt that it didn’t matter what he or Zack really believed in. If Zack was somewhere watching, he would know what Cloud meant.

Cloud didn’t know how long he sat there with his knees folded beneath him. It seemed like he’d been there forever, when warm, strong fingers clasped his shoulder. He flinched and looked up, caught off guard.

“Hey, babe, are you okay?”

Cloud blinked and his thoughts retreated back to the hole they’d clawed themselves out of. Oh.

“Reno,” Cloud replied simply, before turning his gaze back out towards the horizon.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Reno said with a smile, sitting down next to Cloud and scooting close. “You forgot I was waiting for you?”

“I thought you’d be still working,” Cloud responded honestly. “What time is it?”

“Eight.”

Cloud thought back to the time he arrived, belatedly realizing that he’d been sitting in the same spot in front of Zack’s grave for well over two hours. He sighed and looked down. He really needed to learn to stop doing that.

“Sorry,” Cloud mumbled, embarrassed. He had always found it easy to lose himself in his thoughts, especially in quiet places.

Reno threw an arm around Cloud’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Naw, don’t worry about it.”

Usually getting Cloud to unwind and relax into his embrace took time and effort, but today was one of those days, and Reno had been around long enough to kind of-sort of tell the difference. When Cloud made no move to stand up or move away, Reno shifted, encircling Cloud in a complete hug. Cloud exhaled and let himself be held. Between Tifa, Reno, and everyone else, Cloud was slowly learning to let go.

Three years.

If three years were a lifetime, then Cloud knew he had many more lifetimes to live.

He hoped Zack would be there watching.

**Author's Note:**

> Another LJ prompt:
> 
>  
> 
> _Cloud goes to Zack's grave to grieve in the rain. Reno secretly follows and hopes to cheer him up._


End file.
